Recently, the CSA Link Standards Alliance announced that it will hold a Matter 1.0 global media conference in Amsterdam on November 3rd, Dutch time, and a Chinese media conference in Shenzhen on November 4th, Beijing time.
Matter has attracted the attention of many people since it was launched, and the promotion process has been bumpy, and it has just developed to version 1.0.
There are also many introductions about Matter. Today, I will give a complete introduction to Matter through 7 questions, so that everyone can have a more comprehensive understanding of Matter.
I hope to let all readers know what this Matter has to do with them, and how their products can support Matter for equipment manufacturers.
01 What exactly is Matter?
Matter is essentially a protocol, similar to standard local area network protocols such as Bluetooth and Zigbee, but Matter is more general.
How common is it?
That is, devices that used WiFi protocol, Ethernet protocol, and Thread protocol in the past can develop standard application layer protocols on the basis of these underlying protocols, so that products made by different manufacturers use the same standard protocol to communicate. This is the Matter protocol. .
Note: The Thread protocol is an open source protocol released by Google. It can be understood as an enhanced zigbee that supports IPv6. Many security devices overseas use this protocol.
Let me give an example to illustrate that there are different dialects in different parts of China. People in Cantonese speak Cantonese, and people in Northeast China speak Northeast dialect. People in the same place can communicate normally with the local dialect, but when needed, people in different parts of the country can communicate. When communicating with each other, although some content in each other's dialects can be understood, it is not common in practice. At this time, Putonghua was formulated on the basis of dialects. With Putonghua, everyone can communicate without obstacles. Exchange without affecting the existence of the original dialect.
The dialect here is like the WiFi protocol, Ethernet protocol, and Thread protocol, and Mandarin is like the Matter protocol.
02 What problem does Matter solve?
As we said above, one of the biggest features of Matter is its versatility. When all devices support this protocol, the problem of interconnection and intercommunication in the LAN can be completely solved in theory. This includes different APPs, different types of devices, and devices of different protocols. interconnection among them.
There are two points to note here. One is to solve interconnection in theory . This is the same as the Zigbee protocol. It is possible that products made by different manufacturers need to be connected to interoperate. Second, the interoperability of the Matter protocol is only used for LAN, not WAN , LAN means communication between devices under the same route.
The above is a vernacular for everyone to have an intuitive understanding. From the official definition, the biggest features of Matter are simplicity, interoperability, reliability, and security .
03 Categories supported by Matter
At this stage, not all devices can support Matter. The supported categories include electrician/lighting, HVAC control, TV, door lock, security sensor, gateway and other equipment. See the figure below for details.
For the equipment categories listed above, not all of them support Matter, and some of them may still be connected. Now through the CSA (Connectivity Standards Alliance, Matter’s alliance organization) official website, there are no certified cameras, Products such as sweeping robots.
At the same time, products that are not in the above list do not mean that there will be no chance to support Matter in the future. This product category is gradually expanding, and some leading companies in the corresponding category may participate in this alliance standard and gradually improve the relevant standard agreement.
So after looking at the above product categories that support Matter, you will probably know whether the product you are making can support Matter.
So in summary, there are two prerequisites for a device to support Matter: one is that the device uses one of the three protocols of WiFi, Ethernet, and Thread; the other is that the product corresponds to a product category that has been released and supported by CSA. .
04 Networking method of Matter network
As we mentioned earlier, the Matter protocol is a protocol for connecting LAN devices. It is similar to the usage of previous gateway devices. There are three main network connection methods:
One is to support Matter’s WiFi and Ethernet devices to directly connect to LAN routers;
Second, sub-devices that support the Matter protocol (mainly the Thread protocol), sub-devices that support the Zigbee protocol or the Bluetooth protocol, etc., are first connected to the gateway device that supports the Matter protocol, and then the gateway device is connected to the home router;
The third is that sub-devices that do not support Matter are first connected to the Matter Bridge, and then the Matter Bride device is connected to the home router through protocol conversion, just like the previous edge box products.
In order to facilitate understanding, you can see the following topology diagram:
05 The whole process of launching a Matter device
For the entire industry chain involved in smart home, all links from chips, modules, smart hardware, software, etc. need to be certified, and the overall process is similar.
Let’s take a closer look at what work needs to be done if the next product needs to support Matter? What is the specific process?
In the stage of becoming a member, each company will determine its own membership level according to its own attributes. It is a relatively large investment to become a member of Matter. In addition to paying the annual fee, each product must also pay a corresponding fee. Certification fee, the following table is the approximate reference price, the price does not include the laboratory test fee and communication certification fee.
06 Matter participating companies
The Matter protocol was originally a standard led by industry giants such as Google, Apple, and Amazon. Now more than 400 companies around the world have participated in the formulation of this standard.
Participating companies mainly include three categories: initiators, participants, and adopters.
Among them, the initiator is the unit that first participated in the drafting of the agreement, occupies a seat in the board of directors of the alliance, and participates in the leadership and decision-making of the alliance to a certain extent.
There are currently 29 initiators in total, and these units have contributed some of their own proprietary technologies to a certain extent. In addition to Amazon, Apple, and Google, which are relatively influential, domestic manufacturers include Huawei, Haier, Midea, OPPO, and Tuya Smart.
Apple contributed its own content of HAP Secure Commissioning, and Google contributed its own Smart Home's existing network layer and application protocol Weave.
The initiator's role in the CSA alliance is similar to that of the five permanent members of the United Nations.
Participants have the relevant authority to formulate standards, and can obtain relevant draft specifications and conduct tests earlier, and are participating units of protocol standards.
Among them, there are a total of 273 participating companies, including Jijia, Lumi, ARM, Meta and other companies.
Adopters are primarily companies that use existing, approved standards to develop products.
Among them, there are 235 adopters, including Espressif, Skyworth Digital, Amlogic, etc.
07 How to view the future development of Matter
Matter has received a lot of attention from the very beginning of its launch, and many people believe that Matter can change the entire smart home landscape.
From the perspective of the original intention and the background of the relevant companies leading the formulation of the standard, Matter is undoubtedly a good thing, but the delay in the release of the Matter protocol shows that there are still many problems in the promotion of Matter.
At present, everyone in the market is very optimistic about Matter. Here are some opinions that are different from the mainstream.
Personally, I think Matter may be a trend in the future. Enterprises with conditions can deploy it in advance. In the short term, it is difficult for Matter to be implemented on a large scale. In the short term, it will be at least within one or two years.
Here are some problems with Matter promotion:
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Increased costs
The costs mentioned here include the increased research and development costs for enterprises to meet the Matter agreement, membership fees for becoming a member unit, product certification fees after product development, product testing fees, and costs incurred in additional processes such as printing labels when products are shipped, etc. wait.
A good general-purpose standard must have a low threshold, and Matter’s current threshold may be out of reach for many small and medium-sized companies, and the resulting increased costs will be passed on to consumers in all likelihood. , leading to an increase in the price of equipment.
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It is difficult to transform historical stock equipment
The historical stock of IoT devices is extremely large. For example, if a family has 5 non-Matter IoT devices, it is difficult to perfectly integrate with the stock devices by purchasing one or two Matter devices.
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Barriers of each manufacturer
The emergence of Matter is to a certain extent to change the lives of some manufacturers. For example, Xiaomi’s ecology is originally a relatively closed ecosystem, and semi-closed is a great competitive advantage of Xiaomi. Now a small manufacturer can easily access it. To the Xiaomi system, it is definitely not a friendly thing for the Xiaomi system.
Therefore, many companies with a certain size and market share hope to have a certain degree of closure.
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Reduced product differentiation
Unification is sometimes a double-edged sword. When all manufacturers follow the unified standard, the product differentiation will be lower, and the competition will become more intense for manufacturers, and it may be more difficult for consumers. Certain personalized functions cannot be experienced.
Of course, the benefit of unification is that consumers don't have to download so many different apps, and they don't have to be limited to products of a certain brand.
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The ecology is not perfect
Matter is a long-term industry that requires the improvement of the entire industry chain. Chips, modules, finished products, platforms, software, etc. are all inseparable. If there is a gap in the middle, it will actually affect the launch of the product. The number of certified products that can be found on the CSA official website is still extremely limited.
And there are still many product categories that Matter does not cover.
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